If WEC lightweight Bart Palaszewski (30-12) is at all nervous about accepting an April 5 bout at WEC 40 with Anthony Njokuani (9-2) on just 10-days’ notice, he hides it well when answering the phone.

“What’s up?” Palaszewski asked when contacted by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I’m just out having a couple of beers.

“Fight? That’s what I was going to ask you about. What fight?”

Palaszewski couldn’t keep the charade up for long, but the joy in his voice to be back in the cage just a month after a disappointing unanimous-decision loss to Ricardo Lamas at WEC 39 was evident.

“I didn’t have the best showing my last fight, and I trained so darn hard for it that I want to get right back in to it,” Palaszewski said. “[WEC officials] were talking about maybe May or June, and I just didn’t want to sit that long. So the opportunity came knocking, and I went after it.”

Palaszewski was riding a two fight win streak before his March 1 loss. The sting of a poor performance, a smothering opponent, and an overly patient referee has been hounding “Bartimus” since the defeat.

“The one thing I would love to change in that fight (with Lamas) is the referee,” Palaszewski said. “There was so much down time where [Lamas] just laid on top of me and there was no action. Even when we were on our feet against the cage doing absolutely nothing for almost a minute, we didn’t get a break.

“I don’t want to talk bad about a ref or anything, but there was just way too much down time. I had to do something to open it up, so it was kind of like, ‘Do I still sit here and then finally he’s going to give me a break after two-and-a-half minutes of complete stalling? Or after 60 seconds do I start working on something?'”

Palaszewski felt the performance was not up to par with his past efforts, so the opportunity to return quickly was a blessing.

“It was just a really boring fight,” Palaszewski said. “I don’t think it was on my part. I tried to push the pace. I was coming forward, and he just laid on top of me.

“I guess [Lamas] didn’t go to a fight. He came to win a contest. He did a great job of that. He won a contest, but I don’t think he won a fight in any way, shape, or form.”

“I don’t want to lose, obviously, again,” Palaszewski said. “But it is a short-notice fight, so it’s a ready made excuse.

Just kidding. No, man. I’m in shape. I’m always ready to go. The WEC asked if we could do it. I’m more than happy to do it for them. It’s a great promotion. They treat us well. So I guess I’m getting on their good side by doing it.”

Palaszewski knows he’s not taking an easy fight.

“I think it’s a great matchup for both of us,” Palaszewski said. “My main game is the stand-up, and so is his. He’s a phenomenal Thai-boxer, so we just have different styles of stand-up.

“I’m looking for a war, and I think I finally got one. I’m sure he’s going to be ready to bring it. He’s a tough dude, and he’s just so unorthodox and tall at 155 pounds – it’s ridiculous. And like I said, he’s got phenomenal Thai boxing. It’s going to be a fight for sure.”

Palaszewski has won just two of his past four bouts, but the former IFL star remains relaxed, confident, and ready to shine once again.

“I’d really like to thank my fans for the support and the WEC for another shot,” Palaszewski said. “I’m not a prima donna where I can only fight two or three times a year. Somebody’s always fighting in our gym, so we’re always training hard and getting somebody in shape. To get somebody in shape, you’ve got to be in shape.